The study was utterly quiet. Yun Ye was writing furiously with his brush. He had maintained this state for six days already.
The Institute of Investigation was destitute and had nothing. Before this, no one had ever thought of establishing such an institution. If Yun Ye hadn’t insisted repeatedly and guaranteed it would be self-sufficient, the Emperor would never support what seemed like a laughable institution. In his view, the Institute of Investigation was just a toy for the Crown Prince and Yun Ye. If there were gains, it would be an unexpected pleasant surprise; if there were no gains, it would be harmless.
He had miscalculated Yun Ye. As a modern person, he had long been accustomed to this entrepreneurial model—as long as the Emperor gave policy support, he could start from nothing. Li’er hadn’t calculated his intangible investment. The two characters “Imperial” alone were worth ten thousand strings of cash, let alone exploiting loopholes in the riddled Tang Code—Yun Ye felt he could drive a horse cart back and forth through them.
The Institute of Investigation was being renovated with intense urgency. Those thirty-some old men were divided into six groups, each handling their own affairs in an orderly manner. Dozens of people were hired to work day and night transcribing geographical and topographical materials borrowed from the Ministry of Works. Yun Ye wanted to reacquaint himself with the Great Tang. Military equipment was classified—the Directorate of Armaments gave no face and sternly refused the Institute of Investigation’s excessive request. Even Li Chengqian had been rebuffed. The Directorate of Construction was more agreeable, lending out blueprints of some civilian equipment and stating this was special preferential treatment given for the sake of His Highness the Crown Prince.
Treasuring one’s own broom! This was Yun Ye’s verdict. The more he examined various materials, the angrier Yun Ye became. Look at this diagram of the straight-shaft plow—not only was it drawn ugly, it didn’t even mark the dimensions of each part. The entire diagram’s explanation only mentioned how much material to use, with no construction instructions. How the devil would anyone know how to make it? Moreover, the plowshare was just a regular triangle without even the necessary cutting edge. No wonder only oxen could be used to plow fields—horses couldn’t pull it at all. Garbage!
Hoes forged from pig iron—garbage. Sickles only one foot long—garbage. What? Seeds were scattered on the ground by hand? Where was that plow with holes in the tip? Wasn’t it invented during the Han dynasty? How could the most agriculturally advanced Guanzhong region of the Great Tang still be using hand sowing? These bastards had even lost China’s earliest combined seed drill—truly unforgivable.
The people regard food as heaven. Agricultural tools were the Institute of Investigation’s main focus now. Throughout all dynasties, agricultural matters were viewed as more important than heaven. Spring planting required sacrificial ceremonies, autumn harvest required sacrificial ceremonies. The Emperor and Empress had to personally till the fields, and though it was for show, matters that could make the Emperor and Empress put on a show were not common in this era—not like later generations where even a president personally buying an ice cream cone was classified as a publicity stunt.
Directorate of Construction, you give me face, I’ll give you face. The newly manufactured agricultural tools will be handed over to you for dissemination. Everyone gets a share of the credit—everyone’s happy.
Directorate of Armaments, aren’t you so awesome? Saying I’m being excessive? Those broken things of yours—what scaling ladders, siege vehicles, catapults—would I even notice them? I know what a Muslim cannon is, but I’m just not telling you.
Just as Yun Ye was immersed in extreme self-gratification and unable to extricate himself, a commotion came from outside the study. Yun Ye was somewhat displeased—hadn’t he given orders that no one was to move about near the study? What was going on?
“Old Zhuang, what’s happening? Who’s making noise?”
“Marquis, it’s Duke Cheng and Marquis Niu who have come to visit together. Old Madam said the marquis had instructed that these days were very important and not to be disturbed, so she invited the two gentlemen to the reception hall.”
These past few days, Yun Ye had been eating and sleeping in the study. Due to the need to maintain confidentiality, Yun Ye didn’t plan to make it known throughout the city, so he had declined all visitors. He was preparing to launch a surprise attack on the full court of civil and military officials, to give them a basic understanding of the Institute of Investigation—that it was important, very important, not something that could be dispensed with as their wooden heads thought.
In Yun Ye’s eyes, Old Cheng and Old Niu were purely his elders. He wouldn’t hide things from these two old men even if he hid them from everyone under heaven. Grandmother was making a bit too much fuss. She always thought that the new things her grandson came up with could only be seen by her. Although she didn’t understand them, it didn’t hinder the old lady’s enthusiasm for collecting them. She even locked away pieces of paper with writing on them in a chest, and only she had the key.
Ever since her grandson returned, just by casually drawing a few diagrams, he had brought the entire poor and dilapidated Zhaoguo Ward to vibrant life. Now thirty percent of the household’s income came from those iron stoves and coal briquettes he had brought back. The skills her grandson had painstakingly learned from the old immortal couldn’t be learned by unrelated people—needless to say, the old lady had developed this strange mindset again.
“Please invite both elders to the study. Tell them it’s inconvenient for me to leave.” Yun Ye instructed Zhuang Santing to invite Old Cheng and Old Niu while organizing the abstracts he had recorded these past days and several diagrams he had drawn. Some things truly couldn’t be seen by others—like this portrait of Li’er with the two characters “Pig Head” written on the forehead.
After destroying the incriminating evidence, Old Cheng and Old Niu arrived.
“Haven’t seen you for a few days and your airs have grown considerably. This old man lowered himself to visit your residence, yet you don’t even come out to greet me. Where did your upbringing go?” He just loved hearing Old Cheng nag. It seemed his elder deficiency syndrome was becoming increasingly severe.
“What nonsense. Don’t you know this child’s temperament? If he didn’t have something important, would he be rude to you and me? Coming here is no different from being at home—just walking a few more steps. You’re just making trouble.” Old Niu ignored Old Cheng’s grumbling and accepted the hot tea Yun Ye had poured.
“Boy, what have you been doing these past days? You haven’t sought out Chou Niu, Jian Hu, and the others to play together. What’s this about staying home alone? Is it about those twenty thousand strings of cash? If it’s that matter, this old man tells you, boy, you’ve made out big. Apart from you, have you ever heard of His Majesty or Her Majesty extorting anyone else? Twenty thousand strings! To ordinary people it’s money; to His Majesty it’s nothing. If he really lacked money, do you think His Majesty would have nowhere to get money and would have to extort you? This shows he doesn’t treat you as an outsider. Didn’t you see that the money the Crown Prince won was confiscated? The money you won was confiscated. The two of us won even more than the Crown Prince—how come we don’t see His Majesty say a word? Where’s the wine? How are you fobbing this old man off with tea?”
He quickly ordered wine and food brought and invited the two to sit on the small heated platform in the study, while Yun Ye sat at the lower seat to accompany them.
“Uncle Cheng, this nephew doesn’t even consider those twenty thousand strings significant. Even if Her Majesty hadn’t said anything, I would have voluntarily turned them over. This money was won from the hundred officials—easy to take but hard to digest. Without finding someone powerful to cling to, this nephew couldn’t even hold onto six thousand strings securely. Her Majesty had good intentions—did you think this nephew didn’t know?” Yun Ye rolled his eyes and said irritably, “This nephew may be young, but I’m not a fool. Can’t I tell good from bad?”
Old Niu laughed heartily, pointing at Old Cheng and saying, “This old man said before that this boy is sharp as a tack. Would he not see through such a small matter? Was there any need for us two to come put his mind at ease? I told you that you were overthinking it, but you didn’t believe me!”
Old Cheng scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed. At this moment, Aunt personally carried wine and food to the study, arranged the wine and dishes properly, and went downstairs without even raising her head.
“Is your study a forbidden zone in your household?” Old Niu asked while eating a chopstick full of pork liver.
“It was Grandmother who insisted on marking it off, saying everything here is confidential and household members aren’t allowed to barge in. If servants come in, they’ll probably be buried alive.”
“Confidential? These paintings on the wall?” Old Cheng drained a cup of Yun residence’s fine wine and asked with squinted eyes.
“These are picture books sent by our Great Tang’s Directorate of Construction, said to be the best agricultural tools under heaven.” Yun Ye was somewhat noncommittal.
“What do you think then?” Old Niu became serious.
“Garbage!” There was no need to hide things in front of these two. If it were anyone else, two hundred words of praise would be indispensable.
“Pfft!” The mouthful of wine Old Cheng hadn’t yet swallowed sprayed out, splashing Old Niu’s face. Old Niu seemed oblivious, completely ignoring the wine on his face as he asked in a low voice, “You have agricultural tools that aren’t garbage?”
Handing Old Niu a handkerchief, he pulled several scrolls from the flower vat on the floor and handed them to Old Cheng.
“Curved-shaft plow?”
“A plow that can be worked by just one ox, capable of deep plowing to achieve intensive and meticulous cultivation.”
“Seed drill? What’s this? What’s it used for?” Old Niu also opened a scroll.
“Legend has it this was made by Zhao Guo during the Han dynasty. Why doesn’t Guanzhong have any? The Directorate of Construction is a bunch of rice buckets—they’ve lost such an important agricultural tool. It’s even recorded in the ‘Zheng Lun.’ How is it possible that no one knows about this beneficial implement that can sow six hundred sixty-seven mu in one day? What’s the reasoning?”
Old Niu’s eyes nearly popped out. “You’re saying this good thing that can sow over six hundred mu in one day existed as early as the Han dynasty?”
“That’s right. You just need to check the ‘Zheng Lun’ written by Cui Shi of the Eastern Han, and it’s mentioned there.” Yun Ye certainly wouldn’t tell him this was knowledge he’d gotten from a tour guide’s mouth when visiting the Terracotta Warriors, after being bundled with a ticket to the neighboring Folk Customs Museum.
“A bunch of worthless scoundrels! Can’t even guard good things. This old man will submit a memorial to impeach these corpses occupying vegetarian positions.”